How (& Where) Consumers Discover Products on Social Media [New Data]

Advertising is all about assembly individuals the place they’re — and most of the time, they’re on social media. Because of this, it is essential to put money into social product discovery.

In different phrases, use social media as a car for customers to find your merchandise.

After all, not all social media platforms are created equal, particularly with regards to product discovery. So, if you happen to’re seeking to pinpoint the platforms customers use probably the most for product analysis, you have come to the precise place.

Right here, we’ll dive into:

Let’s dive in.

Shopper analysis is important for a greater understanding of the shopper journey from preliminary searches to web site visits and eventual purchases.

Plus, the appearance of digital- and mobile-first interactions has made this analysis much more necessary because the buyer journey now consists of a number of paths and touchpoints from begin to end.

For instance, potential patrons may hear about your model from a pal, do their analysis on social media, after which work together along with your e-commerce retailer by way of their cell machine.

Understanding all touchpoints alongside this journey may also help firms create extra seamless and streamlined experiences for customers and enhance total ROI.

The Prime Social Media Channels Shoppers Use For Product Discovery

26% of customers want to find new merchandise through social media, based on HubSpot’s 2024 State of Consumer Trends Report. Let’s take a better have a look at the channels they leverage for product discovery:

Gen Z

40% of Gen Z have found new merchandise on social media up to now three months, and 41% say it is their most well-liked channel for locating new merchandise. 

Nearly half (48%) of Gen Z customers want to find new merchandise through short-form video platforms like TikTok and Instagram Reels. Furthermore, virtually a 3rd of Gen Z respondents say TikTok is their favourite app.

Millennials

The divide between Millennials and Gen Z appears to be narrowing when it comes to how and the place they uncover new merchandise. Like Gen Z, nearly all of Millennials in our survey (43%) say they’ve found a brand new product through social media up to now three months. 

Moreover, 47% want discovering new merchandise on social media through short-form movies like Instagram Reels, TikToks, and YouTube Shorts. 

“Social media permits me to see the merchandise in context,” says shopper and HubSpot Advertising Supervisor Erica Santiago. “Whether or not it is an influencer or creator utilizing the product or somebody demonstrating how one can use it—short-form movies permit me to shortly assess how a product works and if I need to purchase it.”

Gen X

Gen X discovers new merchandise on social media on the identical fee as Gen Z, with 40% saying they’ve found a brand new product on social media within the final 3 months.

And like each Millennials and Gen Z, nearly all of Gen X (36%) prefers short-form movies with regards to discovering new merchandise on social media.

Child Boomers

Social media falls flat for boomers—solely a slim 20% have found a product on it up to now three months, and solely 8% want buying a product by way of that medium.

That stated, of those that use social media (43%) want discovering new merchandise through social media marketplaces the place purchases occur off the app. An instance can be Fb Market. 

Social Media Product Technique Examples

1. Dizzy With Excitement 

Dizzy With Pleasure is a wallpaper model identified for its quirky and inventive designs.

To carry consciousness to its model, DWE collaborates with different creators and types that concentrate on off-the-wall designs by incorporating these designs into the wallpaper. The model then promotes these collaborations through short-form video platforms like TikTok. 

For instance, DWE collaborated with TikToker Kaarin Joy, who makes a speciality of distinctive, whimsical dwelling DIY initiatives. DWE created wallpaper based on Joy’s DIY projects, and Pleasure confirmed on TikTok the wallpaper being displayed in her dwelling, tagging DWE in her posts.

2. Heidi Daus

Heidi Daus is a model specializing in dazzling, sparkly assertion jewellery. Whereas the model does not have an official TikTok, it is beginning to leverage TikTok by collaborating with creators like Andrea’s Style Galaxy.

Andrea is a content material creator specializing in vogue and magnificence inspiration, and she or he usually refers to herself as a magpie attributable to her love for shiny garments and equipment.

So, it made sense Heidi Daus would collaborate with Andrea, who kinds a number of outfits across the shiny jewellery items. The video additionally options an unique low cost code viewers can use to purchase from the model. 

Each Heidi Daus and Dizzy With Pleasure are nice examples of leveraging social media with influencer advertising.

3. Fenty Magnificence 

Make-up model Fenty Magnificence is thought for leveraging influencer advertising in its technique, which is smart contemplating its founder and proprietor is without doubt one of the most influential pop stars on the earth—Rihanna! 

Nonetheless, Fenty Magnificence added one thing else to its social media technique—creating its personal TikTok filter! TikTok permits creators to create their very own filters and share them with different customers.

Doing so sparks developments and encourages individuals to make and share extra content material utilizing the filter.

In July, Fenty Magnificence launched a TikTok filter known as its “Lip Combo Generator.” The generator cycles by way of pairs of Fenty lip liners and Fenty lipsticks earlier than producing a combo that seems on the consumer’s lips.

This filter promotes completely different Fenty merchandise and permits customers to see which combo works for them. 

When leveraging completely different social media platforms, consider intelligent methods the platform’s in-house instruments may also help you promote your merchandise and provides your viewers and thought of how it could work for them.

For instance, if you happen to’re a clothes model, contemplating making a filter matching completely different gadgets to the viewer. 

4. Gibson 

Iconic guitar manufacturing firm Gibson Guitar leverages Instagram to advertise its newest guitars and amps. Particularly, the model leans into the artwork of videography and pictures, displaying its productvia s crisp, clear, skilled movies and images. 

A lot of the prime performing movies characteristic skilled movies of musicians taking part in the devices or a carousel of images highlighting the look and craftsmanship of the merchandise. 

What sorts of product content material do customers watch or have interaction with?

In case you’re seeking to leverage social media, it is a good suggestion to know what sorts of branded content material customers take pleasure in.

Greater than half of customers (52%) discover humorous content material probably the most memorable, adopted by content material showcasing the model’s merchandise through demos, teasers, and so forth.

Fb

Fb has a whopping 3.07 billion monthly active users and has been round for the reason that early 2000s. Most significantly, it offers many alternatives for customers to find new merchandise. 

Free Promotion

By now, you most likely know that any firm can create a Facebook Business Page. When you create a enterprise web page, you possibly can share posts about your merchandise and choices.

When you’ve got completely happy clients, you possibly can even ask them to evaluation your enterprise on Fb so prospects researching you possibly can see how you have happy your clients up to now.

Along with making a web page to spotlight your model, you may as well submit your merchandise on Facebook’s Marketplace.

Though particular person customers usually use the Market to promote gadgets they not need to different individuals, Facebook Business pages are also eligible to make use of this characteristic.

Our shopper developments survey discovered {that a} third of customers want discovering new merchandise through social media marketplaces the place purchases occur outdoors the app. 

Market listings can embody product pictures, pricing, product specs, and buying info. You also needs to think about speaking about your merchandise or choices on Facebook Stories.

This may take slightly further effort as a result of it should require you to movie or create content material within the Story format, however it will possibly enable you higher join with potential patrons who need a greater sense of what your model is about.

Paid Promotion

As a result of Facebook’s feed algorithmically favors posts from particular person accounts over companies, you may determine that you just need to put cash into Fb Advertisements.

Fb Advertisements has a strong observe report. It is estimated that Fb Advertisements may also help entrepreneurs attain as many as 2.249 billion users. 

With Facebook Ads, you possibly can create ads with a sure objective in thoughts, akin to conversions or in-store foot visitors. The detailed adverts software program additionally lets you goal particular viewers demographics.

As a Facebook advertiser, you possibly can both promote a submit you have already created to make sure that it reveals up on feeds of customers in your demographic, or you possibly can create native adverts which may present up in feeds or on Fb’s sidebars. 

Whereas promoted posts seem like a mean submit with a easy tag stating they’re promoted, the native adverts look extra like conventional adverts to make it clear to customers that the content material they’re seeing is paid for.

If you wish to launch video-based adverts, Fb additionally lets you promote video content material or purchase in-stream ad placements that seem in Fb Dwell movies or longer movies that different customers have uploaded.

YouTube

YouTube can also be standard throughout a number of age teams. Within the final three months, 68% of Millennials have visited YouTube, adopted by 69% of Gen Z, and 65% of Gen X. Greater than half of Child Boomers (51%) have used YouTube within the final three months.

With a branded YouTube channel, you possibly can publish video content material akin to demos, tutorials, or buyer testimonial movies that give insightful particulars about why your product is efficacious.

By filming your personal movies, you possibly can insure that you just’re highlighting all the nice features of your product that make it stand out from its rivals.

Alternatively, if you do not have time to create your personal movies, sponsoring an influencer’s content, tutorial, or review related to your product lets you faucet into that content material creator’s viewers as they inform their followers extra about your choices.

Except for creating your personal account or hiring an influencer to provide a evaluation or tutorial, you might additionally think about paid ads. YouTube presents a number of advert kinds together with TrueView, Preroll, and Bumpers.

These adverts will let you submit a brief video advert to YouTube which is then positioned at first or in the course of movies with metrics and demographics that match your model’s goal.

It is price noting that just about 1 / 4 of customers in our survey (24%) say they’ve found new merchandise through YouTube adverts up to now three months.

To be taught the ins and outs of organising an advert and figuring out which type is best for you, check out this guide.

Instagram

Instagram is a wonderful platform if you happen to’re focusing on Gen-Z or millennials who make up the platform’s primary audience.

For years, Instagram’s visible structure has made it a sizzling spot for influencer marketing. Influencers often submit sponsored images and movies about their experiences with merchandise.

Like YouTube, these influencers additionally often publish video posts or Tales that current tutorials, opinions, and unboxings associated to a product.

Except for influencer advertising, many manufacturers additionally promote their merchandise on Instagram Stories, Instagram Live, and thru normal video or photograph posts on Instagram Feed.

Here’s an example the place Kylie Jenner, the CEO and Founding father of Kylie Cosmetics, movies a Story-based product tutorial for her firm’s Instagram account:

Together with free methods, Instagram presents Shoppable posts. With Shoppable posts, you possibly can promote a product in an Instagram submit that links to your Facebook Catalog. This is an instance of what a Shoppable Submit appears like:

Here’s a blog post that goes into element about how one can use and optimize Shoppable posts.

Pinterest

Pinterest encourages individuals to pin image-based posts that encourage them to digital boards, mimicking the method of making a bodily inspiration board.

As a result of individuals come to this platform to be impressed to do one thing, akin to journey or dwelling adorning, they may discover themselves pinning all types of product-oriented photographs on a themed board.

For instance, somebody who needs to redecorate their workplace may create an “Workplace Inspiration” board and pin images of furnishings or ornamental gadgets that they’d like to purchase.

This is an instance of what these boards seem like:

To make it simpler for individuals to seek out your merchandise, you might think about beginning a Pinterest account and making a number of boards to spotlight your merchandise. Even higher, you possibly can leverage Pinterest’s product pins characteristic and create shippable posts such as you would on Instagram. 

To provide you a real-world instance of how manufacturers use Pinterest, beneath is a board created by Anthropologie known as AnthroLiving, which options shippable posts that includes the model’s dwelling decor merchandise. 

When you’ve got an promoting finances, you may as well think about launching pay-per-click ads on Pinterest. Pinterest Advertisements permits your posts to be seen by individuals in a particular demographic that matches your personal.

The platform additionally lets you A/B take a look at images and goal adverts to Pinterest customers in your contact lists.

Need to be taught extra about Pinterest Advertisements and efficient experiments to run? Try this blog post from a PPC and Pinterest knowledgeable.

Reddit

Reddit encourages customers to create dialogue threads in themed on-line communities, known as subreddits. Because the platform has advanced, many customers have created each threads and subreddits dedicated to speaking about merchandise, like fast-food eating places or video video games.

Beneath is an instance of a subreddit, or on-line group, that Reddit customers created to speak about all issues associated to Xbox One.

Nonetheless, as a result of feedback with promotional language in them often get downvoted or buried in feeds by extra participating Reddit threads, you will have to be artistic if you wish to have interaction with audiences on this platform.

When you may need to regulate Reddit or experiment with it, do not put your entire time and assets into it — not less than proper now.

Because it evolves, the platform could turn out to be a neater platform to market your model on, however in the intervening time, Reddit advertising methods nonetheless require extra brainstorming and time than techniques on different social platforms.

Though this platform has been known as one of many “trickiest” for entrepreneurs to crack, some larger manufacturers have discovered how one can attain the platform’s discussion-oriented customers.

For instance, some manufacturers will create subreddits related to their product, whereas others will work together by commenting on threads associated to their business.

Except for creating content material totally free on Reddit, you possibly can alternatively pay for sponsored posts or adverts, just like Fb or Twitter. These adverts will seem in a consumer’s feed or as a promoted remark in a thread or subreddit.

To be taught extra in regards to the ins and outs of Reddit advertising, click here for tips and examples of how different manufacturers have cultivated the platform.

Figuring out the Proper Platforms for Product Advertising

Whereas working adverts and product promotions on any social platform may also help drive conversion, it’s a good suggestion to give attention to platforms with audiences that already align properly along with your model.

For instance, broader audiences are actively in search of merchandise or researching manufacturers on Fb, Instagram, YouTube, and Pinterest whereas Reddit customers are usually extra trend-focused.

Equally, if you happen to’re advertising a B2B firm, you may see a greater ROI from adverts on knowledgeable community — like LinkedIn — than adverts on a extra consumer-friendly platform like Instagram.

Use the knowledge offered above, and begin leveraging social media for lead conversion and product advertising.